[UTChavok]

So Ive searched and haven't came up with something identical to my problem so here it goes..

So Ive had a little problem for the past few months that goes away for a few days and then will come back randomly. My Jeep drove fine to my parents on Christmas eve but when I went to leave on Christmas day I went to crank the Jeep over and it acted like the battery was low and strained to start, it eventually cranked over without needing a jump but wont idle, I have to give it gas in order for it to stay running. At this point even though the battery is not dead it reset the computer, radio settings etc like i disconnected the ground. I assumed I had a leak in the battery, but I have had it happen to where it runs and drives fine and Ill park it and 5 minutes later I go to start it and it does the same thing, struggling to start likes its dead. This time once it heated up to around 180 I pegged it to the rev limiter and it ran on its own. Sometimes I have to get it up to 210 and sit there for another 5 minutes before it wants to run. It seems to actually help if I give it barely enough gas around 800 rpms and it seems to "figure out" how it is supposed to idle and will do it on its own after a few minutes.

I went to advance and they test my alternator and battery and they are fine, I cleaned my TB out and got the carbon off the tps and other sensors. I have already replaced the IAC a few months back but have not changed the TPS or MAP sensor. Not exactly sure where to start to be honest.

[98BlackZJ]

I am having a similar problem at the moment. First problem a few weeks ago was it randomly would not idle the first time it was started, if I started it again later in the day it would idle fine. I cleaned the IAC which fixed that problem for a while, it recently started doing that again so I need to get a new one. Christmas eve I went to leave and it cranks once or twice and then clicks like the battery was dead so I grab the jumper cables. Before hooking them up I turn the key on again to see what voltage is showing on the dash (didn't check the first time). It shows 12 volts so I tried to start it again, this time it cranks slowly but does start. Had the same issue leaving to come back home. Yesterday it didn't crank at all when I tried to start it, still showing 12 volts on the dash though. At this point on mine I'm thinking bad ground, battery terminal, or battery cable, but haven't really looked at it yet.

[JS97ZJ]

It sounds like you might have an intermittent drain when the ignition is off. Check all of the doors and hatch ajar switches. Checking all your cables and cleaning up your connections to the battery would also be wise.

The volt meter is not a true and accurate instrument. The voltage might show as being good but the drain might have pulled off enough cca from the battery that the whole system could be running under powered off battery that is trying to get recharged when you first have it running.

The generator doesn't actually charge the battery like an external charger does. The generator just replaces what is being used while the vehicle is operating. Some of the lost charge will get replenished, but nothing will replace an external charger.

Running the engine at 800 rpms is the minimum threshold speed for the generator to start replacing the battery's lost energy. Five minutes of running it at that speed is probably the minimum time that would be required, in order to get enough power back into the battery, to get the electronics working efficiently.

Don't use the dash volt meter to troubleshoot electrical problems. It's a average indicator. Get a meter form RS.

[kachink]

I had an identical problem once, on cold starts it would sometimes not hold idle for a few minutes. I would also get the VIC flashing and clock reset, but I didn't connect the two until later.

I had it in the shop a couple of times without success, then one day I was running errands, several short trips between stops, and I came out of the auto parts store and it wouldn't start. I went back in and bought a hydrometer and checked the battery, which showed that it was low. I bought a new battery and never had the problem again.

My theory is that even though the battery had enough juice to turn over the engine a few times to start it, it caused enough of a voltage drop that it re-set the VIC and messed up the PCM memory enough that it had to re-learn things before it would idle correctly.